How to File Articles of Organization for LLC in Oklahoma: Guide

What is the best legal framework for an enterprise? An LLC ticks all the boxes so far. To a smaller private firm or a home-run business, it offers solid protection of corporations while bigger ventures are given an opportunity to enjoy the taxation benefits of disregarded entities.

What makes an LLC structure so popular is that it keeps the business owners away from the liabilities of the enterprise. From the very beginning, the owner and firm assets are strictly split since the entity gains a status of an independent legal person. As a result, should the entity be involved in any lawsuits or face any financial issues, its owners and members won’t be responsible for those as physical persons. Likewise, their funds and property are not entitled to be used for settling those company commitments and liabilities.

Along with a remarkable protection level, LLCs boast exceptional flexibility and adaptability no other registered entity can provide. Thus, this legal structure allows choosing a taxation method that will best suit your entrepreneurial scenario at a certain point.

Taxed as unregistered entities by default, LLCs avoid dual taxation and paying income charges at personal and business levels. However, to optimize levies for fast-growing revenues and become pen to third party investments, LLCs could choose to be taxed as corporations.

Though LLCs are registered entities that call for state filing, the formation process is a doddle. It’s just about registering the future company statute with the state. Below, we’ll describe how to file the Articles of Organization in Oklahoma and touch upon a few other related issues.

The Articles of Organization for an LLC in Oklahoma: Why Do I Need It?

In brief, you need to register the Articles of Organization with the state since, without this instrument, your LLC is non-existent.

It’s your major company document that evidences and verifies your Oklahoma LLC formation and brings it to life as a legal entity. It’s the Articles of Organization that give your LLC status of a legal person capable of functioning independently and having its own powers and obligations.

This document also enforces the corporate protections offered to the enterprise owners keeping their assets shielded from the business commitments and issues.

What to Include in Oklahoma Articles of Organization

By form and content, an LLC statute is a simple generic document that looks quite similar across the states. In the meantime, though, state-specific LLC laws might have some minor details you should observe to get your foundation instrument accepted and approved by the state. Thus, to launch the preparation of the Articles of Organization in Oklahoma, you should get the following info at hand:

• Your future entity name: LLCs are required to have unique names, i.e. such that are not similar to any other names of the existing companies. So, mind doing the name search and checking the desired moniker availability before filing your statute for registration. A non-distinguishable LLC name might be the reason for the state to reject your application. The same is true for a moniker that fails to comply with the state naming requirements. The Oklahoma regulator’s website offers a free name search. And if you file online, your LLC moniker will be automatically checked when filling out the form;
• Your principal business address: You should clearly state your future business location. It should be a street address, with no P.O. boxes accepted. You are free to use your home address or that of your relatives or friends. Most often, entrepreneurs take their representative agent’s address for this purpose that will also do;
• Your Oklahoma registered agent: A representative agent is part and parcel of the LLC legal framework. It’s a must-have element you can’t skip or omit. In a word, without an appointed agent, your LLC is not valid. And that’s yet another reason why your formation order might be declined by the state. The agent’s role is to handle your LLC’s service or process and timely inform you about any vital correspondence. With that, an agent is a sort of warranty for your LLC’s catching up with compliance requirements. In Oklahoma, you can assign this function to any adult resident of the state or a legal entity entitled to operate there. In the statute, you should clearly state the representative’s name, physical address, and email for further communications;
• Effective date: It’s the date on which your entity will be officially registered. It can be either a filing date or any later date within a 90-day period;
• Period of existence: You are not required to determine the closure date of your LLC and can leave it open. In this case, your entity will exist perpetually and might be closed at some point following the owners’ decision. Yet, if you want your enterprise to shut down on a certain date, you can mention that date in your statute.

Overall, the Oklahoma Articles of Organization form is one of the simplest out there. There is no need to state the LLC's purpose and specify the management type as well as enter the names of the entity members and managers.

The document is to be signed by a single person who could be your future LLC member, manager, registered agent, or any third person you choose to do the filing job for you.

Other Organizational Oklahoma LLC Documents to Consider

While the Articles of Organization are a must for LLC registration, there are two more documents you should consider getting for your entity.

The first one is an Operating Agreement, which requires no state registration and is optional in most US states including Oklahoma. However, the importance of this instrument is hard to underestimate.

It’s an internal doc signed by the LLC members to verify their agreements in relation to essential business management and control procedures. It also clarifies the member and manager rights and obligations as well as profit distribution principles to prevent any disputes between the members. As such, this document is a vital tool that ensures smoother and more efficient business operations and reduces the risk of internal problems.

One more important thing to mention is that an Operating Agreement has a priority over default laws, so it’s advisable that you get it in place along with your statute.

The second LLC-related doc is a Certificate of Good Standing. It’s issued by the state office to confirm your entity's legitimacy and compliance with the state requirements. You don’t have to order it along with the Articles of Organization. Normally, it’s provided on demand when required by some of the company vendors, suppliers, creditors, investors, or sponsors.

Filing the Articles of Organization With the Oklahoma Secretary of State

All in all, filing the LLC statutes is a simple process you can handle on your own. In Oklahoma, you’ll have three filing options to choose from depending on what is more convenient and suitable for you at the moment as well as depending on how quickly you need your entity to be registered.

By Mail

Download the Oklahoma Articles of Organization template in the pdf format from the Secretary of State’s website and fill it out on your PC before printing or complete it by hand after printing. Then pay a compulsory filing fee of $100 to the regulator and mail your statutes along with a payment check to the following address:

Secretary of State

421 NW 13th Street

Suite 210

Oklahoma City, OK 73103

Mailed applications are usually reviewed within 7 to 10 workdays, and approved docs are sent back by mail. You’ll get a hard copy of your LLC statute signed and sealed by the Secretary of State and a Certificate of Organization, which is a more formal instrument.

Want to know the requirements for articles of organization in other states? Select state:

Online

To place an online application, you’ll have to set up a personal account on the business page of the Oklahoma Secretary of State’s web platform first and then proceed to fill out an online form. The whole process is fairly intuitive since you will just have to fill out the blanks.

During checkout, you’ll have to pay a $100 filing fee using your credit card info. Online orders are considered and registered within about 2 business days. You’ll get your approved instruments by email.

In Person

It’s the fastest filing method for those who reside in Oklahoma City or have an opportunity to come to the state office in person and hand in the documents. By bringing the documents to the Secretary of State on weekdays, you can get your approved statute back in about an hour. The filing fee is a bit more expensive, though, and amounts $125 since it covers a $25 rate for speedy processing.

Post-Filing Steps to Take

When your Oklahoma statute is approved by the state, your LLC is considered formed in the state of Oklahoma and the formal registration is over. However, there are more formalities to match and regulations to observe to lawfully run your enterprise in this state. When you already have a legal entity, consider doing the following:

• Compile an Operating Agreement to fix on paper the covenants between the entity members concerning day-to-day enterprise operations and management as well as concerning the member powers and duties;
• Acquire an Employer Identification Number (EIN) or Federal Tax ID to gain an independent taxpayer status for your LLC. While many single-member LLCs choose to use the Social Security Numbers of their owners instead, multi-member entities are required to get EINs by default. Anyway, it won’t go amiss obtaining it right after formation since it’s issued by the IRS for free. And you’ll need it to open a business bank account or hire employees and pay payroll taxes;
• Perform a license search to find out the types of licenses and permits your newly formed enterprise might be exposed to. Most entities will have to register for some type of license or permissive documents to lawfully transact business in Oklahoma. Licensing is one of the most sensitive and complicated issues to tackle for a newcomer entrepreneur. You can do the search on your own and navigate through multiple databases and contact different state departments. Or you can hire a professional service that will do all the legwork for you and come up with a complete list of licenses you need. Some providers even deliver the registration forms you need to fill out and submit to the corresponding authorities.

Oklahoma Secretary of State Contacts

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